This week’s ATP action at Beijing and Tokyo is well underway and my five selections, Murray (11/8), Nishikori (11/4), Pouille (33/1), Kyrgios (10/1) and Karlovic (22/1) all got their campaigns off to winning starts on Monday and Tuesday. Other players of note who also got their campaigns off to winning starts at Beijing were second seed Nadal, fifth seed Ferrer, seventh seed Bautista Agut, Britain’s Kyle Edmund and recent St Petersburg winner Zverev who knocked out fourth seed Thiem.

There are still a handful of first round matches to be completed at Beijing involving eighth seed Gasquet, who faces a tough one against America’s Sam Querrey and with Gasquet reaching the final at Shenzen on Sunday and having little time to recover its worth backing Querrey (5/2) or laying Gasquet (1.33).

At Tokyo second seed Monfils made a strong start to his campaign yesterday and other seeds to progress were fourth seed Cilic and fifth seed Goffin. Third seed Berdych (1.36) faces Gilles Muller in the one remaining first round match. The Czech number one could be vulnerable after winning the title at Shenzen on Sunday and is worth opposing on this occasion even though he heads the head-to-head 2-0. The likes of top-seed Nishikori, fourth seed Cilic and fifth seed Goffin will complete their second round matches on Wednesday and of the three Goffin looks like he may face the toughest test against the talented big serving Czech Vesely.